Wobbles Wednesday (16 January 2013)

With the fast approaching big 40th birthday I am making lots of changes in my life with the ultimate aim of removing stress, frustrations and unhealthy things and rediscovering me and happiness.  Along with a lot of other people I have decided that I will try to loose some weight this year.  I am not one for New Year Resolutions because I find that I put too much pressure on myself and ultimately I fail and then become very frustrated with myself; very very frustrated. 

 

Kate is another blogger who is trying to drop some lbs this year. Each Wednesday she will post a link up for anyone who wants to loose weight with the aim of everyone motivating and supporting each other along their weight loss journey.  The posts are aptly names Wobbles Wednesday.  Hopefully for all of us the wobble part won't be here for much longer.

 

I really do struggle to loose weight on my own and therefore signed up at Slimming World last week.  The number on the scales was not good, I mean really not good.  My local group meets on a Tuesday which is perfect to join in with Kate. 

 

 

After a week of changing my eating habits I was in for a very huge shock when I weighed in on Tuesday night.  It really was a celebration.  Somehow, please don't ask me how but I managed to loose...... 

 

12lb!!!!

 

I just don't know how it happened.  To be honest I wasn't that strict with the plan.  I struggle to stick with just 2 slices of bread a day, struggle with the amount of butter I can use and as for the milk, well I need more than 3 cups a day else you really don't want to be around me.  I am going to try to reducing the butter this week but I can't reduce the milk quota, its just not going to happen and to be honest life is too short to worry about how much milk I have.

 

I want to lose 3 1/2 stone (49lb) and after this first week I am well on my way to this achieving this goal.  I lost 25% of what I want to achieve and if I can do that in one week the remaining 37lb should be a doddle.

 

If you are trying to loose some weight why not visit Kate and join in with Wobbles Wednesday.

 

Crafty Plans For 2013

I really am not looking forward to packing our house up  when we eventually move and really think this is the best time to down size some of our belongings.  I know what I am about to say is very rude but my crafting supplies need to be down sized too, yes, I admit I have too much stash. You would never have guessed I had too much, but where do I start?



 

My expedit is full to the brim with paper and yarn, a further shelf unit is full of yarn and then there are baskets galore scattered around the house filled with yarn.  Apart from the odd ball all of the yarn has a purpose with 90% of it for projects already started.  Crochet wise I must get working on those WIPs.  I find it very hard to believe that I only completed 4 projects last year; a cot blanket, a pram blanket and 2 hats.  The hats were not included in my one a day tallies yet I managed to complete 502 stripes, rows or squares last year.  Why then do I have so many WIPs which are less than 30% complete.  According to my Ravelry account I have 23 WIPs at present.  To be honest I think there is about another 4/5 not listed.  Lots of work is needed to complete these.  This year I intend to complete one a day again and I am currently on track which is at least a positive towards completion of the many projects I have began. 

 

 



 This week I have been working on the Rowan Cashmerino DK blanket.  I need 96 squares and have now completed 50 squares and surprisingly I have sewn in all the ends as I have gone along.  Happy with this progress but I had wanted to complete this by Christmas but life just got in the way.  The aim now is to complete the blanket by the end of February.  Seems a long time but I need to be realistic with what I can achieve.  I just don't crochet as quick as I used to due to carpel tunnel and finding time always seems to hinder progress.

 

Knitting wise I just have one seam to sew up to complete my grey cashsoft chunky wrist warmers.  Max of 10 minutes yet they have sat there unloved for about 9 weeks!  Then I have my Nephew's owl hat that needs sewing then eyes, beak and ears tufts made and attached.  Again so close yet very far from completion.  These projects will be completed by the end of next week.

 

2013 will be the year when I do some serious work on the many projects I have started and I will do my best to ignore any new yarn and projects shouting out to me.  Its clear a large number of projects need to be completed before any more are started.  But let me think, didn't I say that last year??  Wasn't 2012 going to be the year of completion?  Oh well, it just happens doesn't it or in my case it doesn't happen, lol.

 



 

Then there is paper crafting.  Paper, paper, paper every where.  I spent the latter part of the year sorting scrapbook kits out.  I had tended to keep the kits in the boxes they were delivered in as I found it easier to use them that way.  I could have a good look at what I had and then just shut the lid. However, the number of boxes were taking over.  I couldn't store them all as I had more kits coming in than LO's being made.  I still have Scrapagogo kits unused and I stopped the subscription 2 years ago.  I also have plenty of Sarah's Cards kits untouched and then there are all the Studio Calico kits. But don't get me started on the number of paper collections I brought in addition to these kits.

 



 

The kits packed into plastic pockets and then stored in these files look much better.  I still need to purchase anpother 5 files to unpack all of the kits but I am getting there slowly.  Even though I am getting organised and compacting my stash I must vastly decrease the quanity I have and quickly.  I can't bear to throw any away which means I need to scrap, scrap, scrap.

 

I took part in Shimelle's class Cover to Cover and I have gone through old albums and noted all the missing stories.  I now need to sort out the photographs for these LO's which I want to work on doing this month.  Completing the actual LO's is not essential I just want to get organised and get the gaps ready to be filled.  My next aim this month is getting on top of Project Life 2012 and September to December Document 2011.  Yes, you did read that right, I have yet to complete my 2011 album.  Then there is the Christmas albums; 2011 and 2012 need finishing. 

In order to decrease my stash I could say I'm not going to buy any more this year but lets be honest its never going to happen.  Instead I plan on completing a one a day for my scrapping too.  This year I will make 365 LO's.  A little ambitious but I will count my Christmas albums as 1 LO per page I make and they are smaller albums, Project life will be 2 pages per week and I intend on keeping up with this years as well as completing last years album.  As with the crochet I won't necesarily make 1 LO per day but I will average this over the year.  Must get started as I have yet to make any LO's this year but I often find I struggle to scrap when the kids are off school as Freya always wants to scrap as well and my table is not big enough for the two of us.

 

Wish me luck because as well as moving house, renovations and life in general I'm going to be very busy crafting this year.

This Year.....

This year there will be big changes in our lives.  These past few years have not been kind to us as a family and as a result I have decided we need a fresh start.  We are moving over 100 miles away.  Moving to the sea side.  Moving to this:

 



 

But before the move happens there is lots of work to be done.  I need to finish the renovations on our current home and then sell it.  This scares me.  Scares me alot. 

 

The up heavel for the kids.

 

The time and stress that will come.

 

How long will it take to get everything organised? 

 

Can I raise enough money to buy a suitable property? 

 

Am I doing the right thing for us?

 

Only time will tell if this is the right choice.  However, as a family we need a fresh start. 

 

We need to start anew. 

 

I need to pluck up the courage to face the 39+1 day...just 72 days now. 

 

This year is the year our lives change for the best.

 

I hope you can join us on our adventure to our new life.  Our new life by the sea.



10 Things On The 10th

Time really does fly by so quick.  I always intend to join in and then before I know it the 10th has come and gone.  

This month i am setting down my 10 goals for the summer holidays:

1. Visit to a National Trust Property every week.
2. Finish one of my crochet projects
3. Complete at least half of my stash busting challenge (50 LOs)
4. Enter a craft challenge every week.
5. Go swimming every week.
6. Loose 1/2 stone.
7. Order 3 albums and file my 2011 &2012 LOs
8. Visit the seaside.
9. Try a new cake recipe every week.
10. Tick one item off my This Year I Will list that relates to the house renovations.

Wish me luck!

Pop on over to Shimelle to take a look at many other 10 things.

 

This Year I Will Quarter One Update

This year I am going to update my 'This Year I Will....' goals on a three month basis.  Last year I was trying to do it monthly and to be honest I didn't achieve much as I didn't have enough time between updates to see much being achieved.  This is how I have got on so far: 

• Kiss and cuddle my little babies at least once every day. Yes - apart from the few days I was at the scrap retreat.
• Welcome a new baby in to our family - not yet, just another 4 weeks to Baby Hyde's due date.
• Find something to smile about each day - overall I think this is a yes. 
• Have a minimum of 30 minutes every day of ME time, no children, no TV, no computer, no telephone, just ME.  As selfish as this may sound, it needs to be done for my own health, both physically & mentally - sort of, most days I have achieved this but there have been some when it just has not been possible no matter how hard I have tried. 
• Make Fridays (my day off) part housework/errand - frees the weekend to spend time with Liam & Freya - and part 'me' time - A bit of a mix this one, but more in my favour this year than it was last year.
• Go out in to the fresh air every day, even if it is only for 5 minutes to sit, I will go outside and to clear my head and relax - yes, apart from the few days I spent in hospital (wasn't allowed to leave the ward as I was hooked up to heart monitors and Sarah's Cards retreat when I was just so busy having fun!. 
• Actively join in with A Monthly Make - Wouldn't say I have finished something every month but I have done something crafty every day which in my book counts.
• Eat 5 portions of fruit & veg a day- surprisingly this is a yes! .
• Get organised; The last 2 years were really not a good years for organisation and this year I will get back to the place where I am in control of what is happening and not depending upon others, who quite frankly let me & my children down - getting there slowly. 
• Choose carefully those people I let into our lives - a few tweeks may be necessary, facebook has a lot to answer for.  Thinking logically there usually is a reason why we have not had contact with somebody for a number of years, yet we get a facebook friend request from someone in our past and we just click yes.  Why? 
• Start organising presents for Christmas - Its going to be a handmade year.  List has been made and some of the handmade items started.
• Lose 2 stone in weight - 11 1/2 lbs since the start of the year, on target.
• Have a professional family photo shoot - had one in February.  Hoping for another later in the year when I can have one's with Baby Hyde but all dependant on if she can sit unaided before Christmas.
• Finish decorating my scrap space & bedroom - working on my crochet blanket, nothing else done yet as I am moving my scrap space down in to the dinning room and having an en-suite in it place.  Need to finish the brick work in the launderette, knock a new door into lounge.  Then split lounge back into two rooms.  Front one will be the dinning room (I currently have a lounge dinning room as my dinning room is my Father's lounge since he moved in with me, luckily the lounge is 32ft and can be split) and then back one the lounge which I have planning permission to extend 14ft which will make it around 28ft in size.  This is all dependant on something else being done first!
• Decorate Liam's room - found his new bed clothes, does this count as progress?
• Decorate the lounge - see bedroom above, no decorating until room split and extension built, probably won't happen this year due to finances.
• Decorate the hall, stairs & landing - need to knock new door into lounge but have found the wallpaper I want and ordered it. 
• Finish the roof on my garage - no progress yet.
• Replace Kitchen roof - outside all repaired and water tight but, but I say, water leaked through and part of the inside has come down!  To be honest just going to put a piece of plaster board in which my Dad can do just to keep the warmth in as we have plans to extend and this part of the roof will need to come down when we knock through in to the extension.  at the moment would rather spend the money on other things in the house then plastering the ceiling to rip it down in 18m/2 years time.  I've lived in a building site for 5 years, a little unplastered corner of the kitchen won't upset me!  Plaster board up and this is a yes.
• Finish the laundrette - sadly still a big hole, undecorated and new units needed.  Plus I now need a new tumble drier as my old one died a couple of weeks ago!!!!!
• Sort out the plumbing - you've guessed it, nothing but I do have the phone number from a friend of a very reliable plumber.  Getting the phone number of a recommended plumber is progress as the 3 we have tried from yellow pages have been a complete waste of space and not turned up and after having 7days off work for plumbers who don't turn up I am never using any tradesman that is not recommended.  "Why did the plumber we know have to retire?
• New window in bathroom and landing - nothing, not got the funds for this as other stuff, i.e hole in launderette wall takes priority.
• Complete Project Life - got to 2 March completed.  Need to make a trip this week or next to our local shopping mall to get some photos printed.  Came to halt when my selphy printer ink ran out!
• Complete 'One A Day' on crochet projects - check out that tally above!
• Catch up on unfinished scrapping projects from 2011; JYC 2011, Document 2011 & Summer Holiday album - nothing done sadly but project tidy from yesterday will help.  Let you in to a little secret, yesterday was the first time I have seen a clear craft desk since I broke my knee last June;0)
• Complete a Document 2012 album - nothing started yet.
• Use more scrap stash than I buy - do I really need to comment?  I've been on a scrapping retreat.  But I have cancelled Studio Calico subscription.
• Finish all the crochet projects I have started before I begin anything new - What can I say?  I have been good and finished a cot and pram blanket but started 2 squares blankets, 1 ripple and another baby blanket.  
• Bake lots and lots of yummy things - baked some great tasting things but not as many as I would have hoped.
• Win the lottery (got to have one thing that won't happen on the list) - nope, but still playing.  

30 goals and after 3 months:

10 are green

10 are amber

10 are red

A New Year Begins.....

A New Year brings a new This Year I Will list.....

• Kiss and cuddle my little babies at least once every day. 
• Welcome a new baby in to our family.
• Find something to smile about each day. 
• Have a minimum of 30 minutes every day of ME time, no children, no TV, no computer, no telephone, just ME.  As selfish as this may sound, it needs to be done for my own health, both physically & mentally. 
• Make Fridays (my day off) part housework/errand - frees the weekend to spend time with Liam & Freya - and part 'me' time.
• Go out in to the fresh air every day, even if it is only for 5 minutes to sit, I will go outside and to clear my head and relax. 
• Actively join in with A Monthly Make.
• Eat 5 portions of fruit & veg a day.
• Get organised; The last 2 years were really not a good years for organisation and this year I will get back to the place where I am in control of what is happening and not depending upon others, who quite frankly let me & my children down. 
• Choose carefully those people I let into our lives.  
• Start organising presents for Christmas - Its going to be a handmade year.
• Lose 2 stone in weight.
• Have a professional family photo shoot.
• Finish decorating my scrap space & bedroom.
• Decorate Liam's room.
• Decorate the lounge.
• Decorate the hall, stairs & landing. 
• Finish the roof on my garage.
• Replace Kitchen roof
• Finish the laundrette.
• Sort out the plumbing.  
• New window in bathroom and landing.
• Complete Project Life.
• Complete 'One A Day' on crochet projects.
• Catch up on unfinished scrapping projects from 2011; JYC 2011, Document 2011 & Summer Holiday album.
• Complete a Document 2012 album.
• Use more scrap stash than I buy. 
• Finish all the crochet projects I have started before I begin anything new.  
• Bake lots and lots of yummy things.
• Win the lottery (got to have one thing that won't happen on the list).  

The list is 30 items long this year and I hope to do far better than I did last year.  I am certainly going in to this year in a far more positive frame of mind which can only be a positive.

What are your aims for 2012?

This Year I Will.....2011 Round Up

This is my 2011 end of year update:

• Kiss and cuddle my little babies at least once every day.  A big Yes.
• Find something to smile about each day.  Most of the time.
• Have a minimum of 30 minutes every day of ME time, no children, no TV, no computer, no telephone, just ME.  As selfish as this may sound, it needs to be done for my own health, both physically & mentally.  Really think this can be nothing but a big huge whopping fail.  Sadly health issues have totally taken over and this goal went out of the window quite a few months ago.
• Make Fridays (my day off) part housework/errand - frees the weekend to spend time with Liam & Freya - and part 'me' time.  Too much of the housework/errand stuff last year!  Health issues meant that Monday to Thursday consisted of getting up, going to work, eating evening meal and going to bed.  Everything else was squeezed in to Friday in order to try to keep the weekends free for family fun.  Sadly some weekends were spent catching up on sleep and chores.  Not much fun at all.
• Go for a walk every day, even if it is only for 5 minutes, I will go outside and walk to clear my head and think about life.  Been on crutches the majority of this year with planter fasciitis, broken leg/knee and then DVT.
• Eat 5 portions of fruit & veg a day. Most days I managed 4/5 but other sometimes only 1/2.
• Have a wonderful Summer holiday; a 3 1/2 week tour of Europe to include my Brother's Wedding in Lithuania.  Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.  So much fun we have drawn up next years itinerary.
• Get organised; 2010 was really not a good year and this year I will get back to the place where I am in control of what is happening and not depending upon others, who quite frankly let me & my children down.  Do you really want me to answer this one?
• Choose carefully those people I let into our lives.  On the whole I think this is a yes!
• Start organising presents for Christmas - Its going to be a stress free one this year unlike the mayhem of 2010!  Everything purchased by the end of the first week in December.
• Have a professional family photo shoot.  One shoot paid for and then I won another.  Love the photos from both shoots.
• Do something new every month. I managed a fish ped in January and a scrapping retreat.  Fail I think!
• Finish decorating my scrap space & bedroom. Moved the desk and storage unit in plus all my stash sorted and stored but no decorating.  Purchased new bedding and curtains in the pre Christmas sales.
• Decorate Liam's room.  Nothing done apart from Liam make a huge mess but I suppose that is 9 year old boys for you.
• Decorate the lounge.  Chimney breast stripped, paper and paint chosen and brought 2 new canvas' of the kids photos for the chimney.
• Decorate the hall stairs & landing.  Striped some more paper off but nothing else and still more needs to be stripped on the stairs, you know the bit that needs a ladder.
• Finish the roof on my garage, laundrette and downstairs toilet.  New roof on outside of toilet and launderette.  Garage still completely roofless and need to do the ceiling inside.  However where it joined the kitchen has got damaged and now the kitchen roof needs replacing plus a new ceiling inside!
• New laundrette cupboards.  Ceiling needs to be done first, then walls re-plastered.  Have started to strip the old wallpaper and sort the contents of the cupboards.  Decided what doors I want.
• Decorate down stairs toilet.  Nothing done.
• Sort out the plumbing.  Nothing done.
• New window in bathroom and landing.  No new windows.
• Find a baby sitter so I can go to Bromsgrove Crop on a Saturday.  Achieved, thank you Daddy!!!
• Attend a retreat.  Went to Sarah's Cards Retreat in November and booked to go next March as well!
• Complete 12 LO's a month.  I'd say on average I have got pretty close to 12  a month.
• Complete 12 Granny Squares or stripes a month.  Probably averaged about 6 a month in the early part of the year but since joining Gingerbread girl have completed one a day for the past few weeks so certainly caught up.
• Catch up on unfinished scrapping projects from 2010; JYC 2010, Document 2010, LSNED 2010 & Liam & Freyas Year In The Life Of albums. Zilch, nil, nothing, nowt, probably best not to ask if you get my drift.
• Complete a family scrapbook for 2011; something on the lines of Document 2010.  On track for Document 2011 & completed the first 6 months of the year.
• Complete Liam's and Freya's '2011 Year In The Life Of' mini albums. Nothing started but I have scrapped 12 x 12 pages to go in their life albums but no specific mini album for 2011.
• Use more scrap stash than I buy.  Was this ever going to happen????  But have stopped Scrapagogo monthly kit and not brought as many extras but still the stash mountain has increased.
• Finish all the crochet projects I have started before I begin anything new.  More yarn than at the beginning of the year and more WIP's.
• Knit myself a pom pom scarf.  Eyed the wool in my LYS.  Does that count?
• Take time to rediscover cross stitch.  Probably spent less than 10 hours during the whole of the year.  But not brought any new kits. 
• Bake lots and lots of yummy things.  Baked more than I did last year but not as much as I would have liked to have done. Having said that having chickens and lots of fresh free range eggs has been a huge boast to my motivation. 
• Win the lottery (got to have one thing that won't happen on the list).  Spent £2 per week, won nothing.  Not one single £10 win.

34 Goals; 10 Green, 7 Amber, 17 Red

Not too great eh?

Day Two Of The Crafty Spa Weekend (Saturday)

Well yesterday started with another great nights sleep until my neighbours had a little tiff in the corridor at 2.30am which lasted over an hour.  By the end I think everybody in our corridor had come to conclusion that a young lady's room card key didn't work and her slightly jolly (alcohol added) friends might like to go to reception to tell someone. Why it took them over an hour I don't know!  Anyway, I am really thinking now that I NEED a new bed or I move in to a hotel full time.

Sorry for the poor photos of Fridays LO's but that was down to the mobile.  I took my DSLR today and managed to get a few more but sadly with no daylight.


I am LOVING this retreat and have met some lovely lovely ladies.  How Sarah and Lianne managed to match up 4 strangers and sit them on a table and find they just click is truly amazing!  Thanks ladies, this has made for a fantastic funny weekend.  I really have not laughed so much for such a long time and considering we were strangers 36 hours ago it is unbelievable how well we have got on.  I really hope I can have the experience of other retreats in the future.


These were yesterday's LO's:

The first LO just needs a zipper rosette added which I will try to have a go at finishing today.  I also need to photo my sketch challenge as it had been handed in for judging, not that I stand a chance when I looked at all the other lovely LO's made by the other attendees.

There was also a little make and take tag from Friday evening:

Now on to Saturday's activities which consisted of 3 classes. First up was Against The Grain which was taught by Vanessa Stokoe.

After lunch was Fancy Flora by Jen Naulls:

Followed quickly by Krafty Adventures by Lou Stevenson:

After dinner it was time to collect my card making class supplies from Tracy Gough.  It was now 8.30 and to be honest I couldn't face another class.  However, a couple more take and makes filled the evening:

A lovely little magnetic peg and two sweet filled packages....wonder if these will make two little ones happy when I get home!

After a team quiz (sadly we didn't win but a 12/20 was quite impressive in our books) the next challenge was set by Sarah.  An altered canvas made using your scraps from the retreat classes.  This is Cherry's entry.....words are not really needed but oh did we laugh!

Finished off with a little hooky in bed.  Fantastic day all round x